Across all Tomorrowland festivals and events, the Recycle Teams play a key operational role in maintaining clean and well-managed festival grounds. From Belgium to the mountains of Alpe d’Huez and events beyond, these teams support waste collection and sorting in complex, high-density environments.

The Recycle Teams consist of volunteers from around the world, working across multiple tasks throughout each event. During festival hours, team members move across the grounds with litter pickers and utility wagons, collecting waste from the ground and clearing bins in high-traffic areas. Once collected, waste is transported backstage, where it is sorted into the appropriate categories.

This process varies slightly between festivals, depending on local regulations, infrastructure and environmental conditions.

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At Tomorrowland Belgium

At Tomorrowland Belgium, the role of the Recycle Teams extends beyond waste collection alone. Volunteers are responsible for keeping both the Holy Grounds and DreamVille clean, while also supporting visitor awareness around recycling guidelines and on-site sustainability initiatives.

At the start of the festival, all Recycle Team members receive a briefing on Love Tomorrow initiatives. This enables them to answer questions and provide clear guidance to the People of Tomorrow throughout the event.

Around 570 volunteers are active each day during Tomorrowland Belgium, spread out across Tomorrowland and DreamVille. Approximately 70 of them operate with Recycle and Cup Return Backpacks, focusing on densely populated areas such as stage fronts and food courts during peak moments. This approach helps ensure that waste collection facilities remain accessible even in crowded conditions.

In addition to ground operations, a small team of two to four volunteers is assigned each year to remove floating waste from the water features around selected stages, including Elixir and The Rose Garden. These interventions typically take place for one to two hours at a time. After the festival, the lakes and surrounding embankments are checked again to remove remaining waste.

Recycle Team volunteers also collect reusable cups that are left on the ground or placed in waste bins instead of being returned at designated Return Points. These cups are sorted and sent back into the reuse system, supporting the operational lifespan of the cup programme across festival editions.

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At Tomorrowland Winter

Tomorrowland Winter has taken place in Alpe d’Huez, France, since 2019, bringing the festival experience to mountain and village stages across the region. The alpine setting presents specific logistical and environmental considerations, reflected in the work of the Recycle Teams on site.

Recycle Volunteers at Tomorrowland Winter carry out similar responsibilities to those in Belgium, adapted to the mountainous terrain and spread-out festival locations. The teams focus on keeping mountain stages, village areas and festival grounds clean, while also acting as points of contact for visitors with questions about recycling guidelines and Love Tomorrow initiatives.

Around 100 volunteers are active during Tomorrowland Winter, working across both daytime and evening operations. Approximately 50 volunteers use Recycle and Cup Return Backpacks. During the day, they are positioned across the mountain stages, supporting waste collection in busy audience areas. In the evening, teams cover the festival grounds, food areas and stages in the village.

As in Belgium, volunteers also collect reusable cups that are not returned at official Return Points, helping to maintain the circulation of cups within the reuse system for future events.

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